The third quarter was a busy one for the Irish investment market with total turnover reaching €529m. This makes it the strongest quarter in 2017 thus far according to new research from Cushman & Wakefield.

Adding to activity in the opening half of 2017, the year to date total now stands at €1.3bn. The market is continuing to see a large volume of lower value deals transact. In the year to date, 145 transactions have been recorded in the market, 75% of which range between €1m and €10m in value.

The research indicates that investment flows in 2017 continue to be led by the office and retail sector, however, perhaps the most notable trend emerging from 2017 is the presence of off-market transactions. In the year to date, approximately €272m or 21% of total investment turnover comprised off-market deals.

Market intelligence indicates that the lack of supply in the market over the past twelve months has been a key catalyst in this trend. Purchasers are now looking beyond what is available on the market and are actively approaching possible vendors in order to acquire product.

Looking towards the final quarter of 2017, just over €200m was sale agreed at end-September, with a further €360m available on the Irish investment market. It is anticipated that investment totals at year-end will reach in excess of €1.75bn. This has the potential to be higher, if any big ticket assets were to close before year end according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Commenting on the research, Chief Economist at Cushman & Wakefield, Marian Finnegan said, "The Irish Investment market has returned to a more sustainable level in 2017, after three years of exceptional capital flows into the sector.  However, there may be an uplift in the supply of property coming to the market in the short term due to the positive policy changes in relation to CGT in Budget 2018."

Source: www.businessworld.ie